Many new varieties of tools have been developed over the years to facilitate the cleaning of guns. All of these prior art devices exhibit a cylindrical shape, since the elements they are designed to clean have such a shape. Although these cleaning tools serve quite well when it comes to cleaning barrels and breeches, they can not be utilized to clean other parts of the gun, such as ventilated rib openings, trigger guard openings, revolver cylinder ends and the like.
In the gun cleaning process, metal parts virtually inaccessible or those having narrow openings are either neglected or, worse, damaged through the use of makeshift metal or wood instruments to force a cleaning cloth along their surfaces. Typically, instruments such as screwdrivers, pocket knives, or small picks are employed. If the gun owner is conscientious, he might employ similar wooden instruments, but these have a tendency to break, leaving small slivers jammed in the opening. In all likelihood, he would then resort to a metal instrument to dislodge the sliver. Odds are that the weapon will be damaged, resulting in rust which is undoubtedly the most prevalent and serious malady confronting the gun owner, since this usually requires an expensive rebluing operation or part replacement to correct the condition and re-establish both the integrity and value of the weapon. In some instances, if left unattended, rust will eventually render the weapon unsafe for use. Thus, the current procedure is time consuming and potentially damaging to the weapon.
In order to clean such areas, the gun owner had to utilize a cloth swab which was manually manipulated in these areas. Quite obviously, this was a laborious and time consuming process.
The prior art is also replete with brushes of various shapes to accomplish specific cleaning purposes. However, although the prior art brushes may exhibit tapering or conical shapes, they almost invariably have circular cross sections. Clearly, such items are incapable of cleaning those areas of the gun previously described.